PeteD Posted March 14, 2017 Share Posted March 14, 2017 Today I was informed by a reputable Hi-Fi dealer that Oppo is totally pulling the Sonica DAC from the market. No product will be shipped in Australia and customers overseas who are in possession of units shipped to date will be supported by future firmware updates. I am hoping that it is a big practical joke or something (already confirmed that it is not 1st April - LOL) but I have no reason to doubt this guy. So now (if this is indeed a true story) I have to decide whether or not to wait for the UDP-205 or go now with something like the Cambridge CXN. I’m not overly concerned about paying more for the 205 but am now wondering about the whole “Oppo” situation given this alleged outcome with the Sonica DAC. I have certainly read a lot of good feedback in regard to the CXN both on this forum and elsewhere. What do you guys think – go with the Cambridge CXN now or wait for the Oppo UDP-205? My primary method of playing music will be via USB connected 2TB WD portable HDD – which worked flawlessly when using my BDP-105D. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hydrology Posted March 14, 2017 Share Posted March 14, 2017 Hold on, surely you were given a reason as to why its being pulled? Is it just not being made available in Australia or being canned worldwide? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Addicted to music Posted March 14, 2017 Share Posted March 14, 2017 Just keep on the Australian site to check availability....don't believe gossip until it's made official by the local distributor. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeteD Posted March 14, 2017 Author Share Posted March 14, 2017 14 minutes ago, Hydrology said: Hold on, surely you were given a reason as to why its being pulled? Is it just not being made available in Australia or being canned worldwide? The Oppo distributor told him that they were having way too much trouble getting the software right and I'm 99% sure that he also said it was being pulled worldwide. No doubt all will become clear in the next day or so when / if Oppo makes an announcement - I'm still hoping that it's a false rumour but, as I previously mentioned, I have no reason to doubt the guy. As for my next move, I've done some more reading and the Cambridge CXN is looking like the strongest contender. I'll take my portable HDD into the dealership this weekend to try a few of my FLAC / AIFF / DSF / DFF files. If all goes well I'll show them the money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raffinator Posted March 14, 2017 Share Posted March 14, 2017 Fark! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeteD Posted March 14, 2017 Author Share Posted March 14, 2017 Nothing official as yet but Oppo Digital Australia has removed the Sonica Dac from the web site menus. Funnily enough, a google search still links to the page - LOL. It's hard to get good I.T. help these days .... https://www.oppodigital.com.au/products/oppo-sonica-dac-black Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveC Posted March 15, 2017 Share Posted March 15, 2017 28 minutes ago, PeteD said: Nothing official as yet but Oppo Digital Australia has removed the Sonica Dac from the web site menus. Funnily enough, a google search still links to the page - LOL. It's hard to get good I.T. help these days .... https://www.oppodigital.com.au/products/oppo-sonica-dac-black Page not found, it might be in your cache Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeteD Posted March 15, 2017 Author Share Posted March 15, 2017 3 minutes ago, SteveC said: Page not found, it might be in your cache Ah yes of course - I always forget about that pesky cache, thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F18 Posted March 15, 2017 Share Posted March 15, 2017 (edited) Can confirm this is true, was close to buying one as I keep tabs with my connections in the US, Hong Kong and Taiwan and confirmed it with a distributor manager that it is pulled from reaching retailers/distributors till Oppo rectifies software/firmware issues. Cheers, Edited March 15, 2017 by willio747 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powerav Posted March 15, 2017 Share Posted March 15, 2017 Wow that's massive, by doing that they are also admitting guilt over the 203. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnL Posted March 15, 2017 Share Posted March 15, 2017 (edited) Just went to OPPO site..........http://www.oppodigital.com/sonica-dac/ Went through the motions of buying one right up to checkout without a hitch. If this rumour was true then surely OPPO's OWN site would be the first to pull it from sale. Also a bit strange that Googling this brings up NOTHING..............just this SNA Thread!!!! Anyway..........I have sent an Email to OPPO and will post back here with their reply. Edited March 15, 2017 by JohnL 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocky500 Posted March 15, 2017 Share Posted March 15, 2017 I just went online to Oppo Australia site and asked about it in the chat box that comes up about buying one. They say it is not released here yet and took my email if any news of release dates come up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeteD Posted March 15, 2017 Author Share Posted March 15, 2017 47 minutes ago, JohnL said: Just went to OPPO site..........http://www.oppodigital.com/sonica-dac/ Went through the motions of buying one right up to checkout without a hitch. If this rumour was true then surely OPPO's OWN site would be the first to pull it from sale. Also a bit strange that Googling this brings up NOTHING..............just this SNA Thread!!!! Anyway..........I have sent an Email to OPPO and will post back here with their reply. In the U.S. they might be selling all of their run-out stock before closing the shop on the Sonica DAC. I was told they we can expect an official announcement by the end of this week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeteD Posted March 15, 2017 Author Share Posted March 15, 2017 2 minutes ago, rocky500 said: I just went online to Oppo Australia site and asked about it in the chat box that comes up about buying one. They say it is not released here yet and took my email if any news of release dates come up. Yeah hahahaha - that guy who operates the Chat desk on the Oppo Digital Australian site is not allowed to say anything until the official announcement is made in the next day or two. Ask him why the Sonica DAC no longer appears anywhere on the site - LOL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnL Posted March 16, 2017 Share Posted March 16, 2017 (edited) So here is OPPO's official response to my Email below regarding the status of their Sonica DAC.......... John, This would be news to us. We have not stopped selling or producing the Sonica DAC. Best Regards, Customer Service OPPO Digital, Inc. 162 Constitution Dr. Menlo Park, CA 94025 Service@oppodigital.com Tel: 650-961-1118 Fax: 650-961-1119 Note: Hi, There is a rumour circulating that your Sonica DAC has been pulled from the market until software/firmware issues can be addressed. Could you please confirm or deny this? Regards, John Edited March 16, 2017 by JohnL 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeteD Posted March 16, 2017 Author Share Posted March 16, 2017 48 minutes ago, JohnL said: So here is OPPO's official response to my Email below regarding the status of their Sonica DAC.......... John, This would be news to us. We have not stopped selling or producing the Sonica DAC. Best Regards, Customer Service OPPO Digital, Inc. 162 Constitution Dr. Menlo Park, CA 94025 Service@oppodigital.com Tel: 650-961-1118 Fax: 650-961-1119 Note: Hi, There is a rumour circulating that your Sonica DAC has been pulled from the market until software/firmware issues can be addressed. Could you please confirm or deny this? Regards, John Fair enough, but it's a different story in Australia - oppodigital.com and oppodigital.com.au are totally different entities. So, if one was to purchase a Sonica DAC from the U.S. would the unit have to be modified in any way because of the different voltages - or is that automatically taken care in power supply design of these days? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnL Posted March 16, 2017 Share Posted March 16, 2017 (edited) Yes........according to the specs for it on their site. http://www.oppodigital.com/sonica-dac/sonica-dac-Features.aspx Power Supply.............AC 110-120 V ~ / 220-240 V ~ / 50/60 Hz Edited March 16, 2017 by JohnL 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Addicted to music Posted March 16, 2017 Share Posted March 16, 2017 4 hours ago, PeteD said: Fair enough, but it's a different story in Australia - oppodigital.com and oppodigital.com.au are totally different entities. So, if one was to purchase a Sonica DAC from the U.S. would the unit have to be modified in any way because of the different voltages - or is that automatically taken care in power supply design of these days? http://www.oppodigital.com/sonica-dac/sonica-dac-Images.aspx check the image on the rear. See where the IEC is there is a red switch to select between the 240 50hz -120V 60hz. this is on the OPPO 105 too. all you need do is change this selection and make sure it's 240V. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bunno77 Posted March 16, 2017 Share Posted March 16, 2017 http://hometheaterreview.com/oppo-sonica-dac-reviewed/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest thathifiguy Posted March 16, 2017 Share Posted March 16, 2017 7 hours ago, bunno77 said: http://hometheaterreview.com/oppo-sonica-dac-reviewed/ Not exactly a glowing review, particularly with regards to sound. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benje Posted March 16, 2017 Share Posted March 16, 2017 thathifiguy I thought it was a pretty good review, close to glowing but recognised shortfalls as well as advantadges. I do expect to see a debate on using this or a 105/205 OPPO. I also await any comparison with other streaming DAC's that cost up to US$1200 (50% higher than the SONICA). That said, I am not in the market for such an item - I continue to use a 103D with HDMI out (PCM these days) into my Anthem MRX720 receiver. Benje ps I feel for PeteD. he has been keen to be up to date, in Australia. I recall how long the original OPPO 83 took to be available. Was that mid 2009? That was pre-Merlin in Canberra, and involved some shocking modder experience (region-free mod) in the USA. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeteD Posted March 17, 2017 Author Share Posted March 17, 2017 (edited) 1 hour ago, Benje said: ps I feel for PeteD. he has been keen to be up to date, in Australia. I recall how long the original OPPO 83 took to be available. Was that mid 2009? That was pre-Merlin in Canberra, and involved some shocking modder experience (region-free mod) in the USA. 2 Thanks for the mention Benje. I picked up a new Cambridge CXN yesterday - happy with it so far. The Internet radio thing (thousands of stations) is really cool and the player reads & displays my large collection of FLAC / AIFF / DSF / DFF files very quickly. It hasn't failed to play any of the files I have fed it so far. However, I am prepared for this acquisition to be temporary because, at the end of the day, I really loved the BDP-105D and regret selling it. Who would have predicted the outcome with the Sonica DAC ?! I paid $1,378 for the CXN and figure I should be able to easily sell it for $1,000 in 6-12 months. By that time the UDP-205 will have been in the market for long enough for the jury to have returned a verdict. For Oppo, I strongly suggest that the release of the 205 will be a watershed moment for the company. It had better be a show stopper is all I can say. Edited March 17, 2017 by PeteD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Spyne~ Posted March 17, 2017 Share Posted March 17, 2017 1 hour ago, PeteD said: Who would have predicted the outcome with the Sonica DAC ?! What outcome? Nothing has been confirmed yet. We even have an email response from Oppo USA saying they know nothing of the rumour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neo Posted March 17, 2017 Share Posted March 17, 2017 Spoke to Wing who runs the Minidisc shop in Chatswood, he confirmed that the sonica dac from oppo has been pulled from the market in Australia Neo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeteD Posted March 17, 2017 Author Share Posted March 17, 2017 12 minutes ago, Neo said: Spoke to Wing who runs the Minidisc shop in Chatswood, he confirmed that the sonica dac from oppo has been pulled from the market in Australia Neo Yeah - they will still be available in the U.S. and other markets that Oppo believes are worth servicing. It still confuses me as to why they would be so selective - if they going to keep shipping blu-ray players and headphone amps then why not the Sonica DAC, which doesn't even get a chance to prove itself here as far as Consumer interest goes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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